The Bridge
by ClearlyInvsible
Summary: The stories and recollections of Huntsman Ambrose Provost's in training at Beacon. Written from first person perspective, writing style inspired by "The Book Thief" By Markus Zusak.
1. Prologue

Evening, my name is Ambrose Provost. You can call me Andy.

I'm going to be telling you a story. My story specifically. It's a long one, quite a bit of a bore in hindsight. Then again after everything that's happened, everything is boredom in comparison.

But each story has a backstory, every effect has a cause. Before I tell my tale, it's best you know about what happened before.

Before the fall.

Before my time at Beacon.

Before me even.

We start in the same state that we'll end off in, war. Quite the commentary on Humanity and the Faunus, eh?

But yes, the war. That and my father's role in it.

We start with a young Ulysses Provost. 25 and brash. A squad leader in Vale's Mounted Police Force, now having been mobilized to fight in the Faunus Revolution.

* * *

><p>The Provosts are the noble family which has the responsibility of leading Vale's police force. We've had this role for 4 generations, ever since the Royal Valerian Mounted Police was created from the Mounted Division of the Army. From my Great-Grandmother to my Grandfather, from him to my Father. And it will be my responsibility if the Kingdom survives this mess.<p>

But yes, young Ulysses. Wearing the uniform of a Captain in the RVMP. Long blue great-coat over grey combat armor, blue helmet with golden laurels painted along it's sides. Black-leather jackboots and brown gloves. His front glistening with golden bronze buttons, his shoulders topped with black lapelles. All ontop of a black horse

He and his squad are marching through the southern frontier of the city. Scouting ahead for an assault upon a rebel stronghold. Faunus could never just do as they're told, they had to make a fuss over everything. They can't even live in their own place with their own kind, they have to intermingle with _humans_.

Yes, my father was a bit of a bigot in his youth. I suppose it came with the pride, which of course came with the name.

All of a sudden, a blast in the middle of their horses. An ambush of course, the enemy can't fight on even ground when most of them are fighting trained soldiers armed with guns when they only have clubs and claws. Bullets fire, another explosion, and a knocked out Ulysses.

A squad of 15 men, taken out in as many seconds. They took about 4 faunus down with them, at least.

* * *

><p>I've been knocked out more times than I can count at this point. Each time occurring <em>after <em>I was enrolled in Beacon. It's a shock above all else, a large quick shock. Then, all goes dark. It's a dreamless sleep, as if you're put into stasis. It may have been a different experience with my father, perhaps it's unique for each person.

We go from the first month of Summer to the second, a grand total of 13 days later. We also go from a road to a forest farm. Trees with red leaves everywhere. A large blue barn, a pigpen, and a horse stable. The farmhouse is across the small dirt road in the middle, two floors of brown painted wood with a small deck out front.

Zoom into the barn, we see 13 people. 3 faunus and 10 humans. Each in various states of health. Four are fine, seven are wounded, two are sick.

One is asleep. He has been asleep for 13 days. At this point we'll deem this one "comatose".

Can you guess who?

His helmet is gone, left at the ambush site. His coat shredded and his armor removed, he's wearing a plaid shirt that they found in the house. It's too big for him, but it's better than nothing. Over him is a baby blue felt blanket, next to him is an oil lamp and a medical kit.

Across from him, is a woman. You'll learn about her in a moment.

* * *

><p>In the morning we find young Ulysses finally stirring and awaking. Shaking his head and wondering what the hell is going on. He looks around, trying to get his bearings.<p>

"Where the hell am I? Where's my squad? What the f-"

He turns.

He notices the woman, now at his side.

This woman's name is Mary. Long brown hair, big brown eyes, slightly large nose and a slightly-curved-yet-also-slightly-muscular physique. She's wearing a simple green blouse with white workpants, dressing a wound where Ulysses' foot was supposed to be.

Ah, knew I forgot something. My father's left foot was blown off in that ambush.

As Mary noticed her patient finally opening his eyes, she jumped up and screamed for her family.

A large portly man rushed into the stable. Then a small lanky girl. Each of them had an oddly… ursine look about them.

It was a family of faunus. Bear faunus to be precise, a family which hadn't been noticed by the Kingdom's "replacement" efforts.

Now, you must be thinking how suicidal this is. Allowing a military officer of Vale into your home as a faunus was terrible for two reasons. Firstly, you were risking your independence. Second, you were risking other faunus seeing you as a traitor. It was a very nothing to gain everything to lose scenario from a practical standpoint. But if you see someone that needs help, there were those who'll put themselves at risk to aid them.

Back to the matter at hand, my father tried to stand up. My guess was that he was trying to back into a corner out of surprise. This is when he noticed his foot was missing, he tried to stand on a stub. Needless to say that ended him up face-first into a pile of hay. The smaller girl walked away towards the house.

The old farmer man, Gabriel is his name, grabbed him and gave Ulysses a walking stick. It was now that these two had the first of many conversations together:

"Where the hell am I…!?" My father yelped.

"Eazy son, you just woke up. Try standing still before you throw my hay around again" Gabe replied.

Angrily, he retorted "Answer my question Faunus, before I stick this cane so far up y-"

"We're in the agricultural district lad," Gabriel interrupted "Calm the hell down before you hurt yourself."

Mary extended her hand to grab his. "Here, take my hand. Your friends are around the corner."

Slightly ashamed, my father took hold. "...Thank you," he said.

* * *

><p>Around the corner the Captain sees his men, beaten and battered. They seem safe, and they certainly thought they were safe. One of the soldiers stands up at the sight of Ulysses, the others slowly get up themselves. The three faunus from the ambush are standing to the side, but intermingled with his troops. A chessboard is at their a pair's feet, black and white both on their last pieces.<p>

The first soldier spoke. "You're finally friggen awake Cap."

"John... where's Davis?" Ulysses questioned

"Dead," replied John. "Same with Tucker, Church, Simmons and O'Mally. Gordon's in the house helping with dinner.

Gabriel laughed. "Talk about timing lad, just as dinner is done you wake up. Least Mary isn't going to need to feed you 'erself anymore."

"Shut up dad…" the woman said, turning away while frowning and blushing.

"Oh, uh…" He starts turning red himself. "Well, I guess that is a good thing now isn't it?"

Gabe looked at both his daughter and the soldier. "Alright, sit down b'fore Susan shows up with the pot."

Settling down, my father still had questions. "So… we were on a road to along the southern border. How'd we end up here? Where _is _here?"

"Me and m'girls were taking our crops over to our market when we heard explosions 'n gunfire," Gabe answered. "We ran to find out what the hell was going on."

Mary sat down next to Ulysses. "We found you passed out on top of your horse. Poor thing bled out from the shrapnel. Once we noticed the coast was clear we checked out who was alive or not."

Gabe continued. "After that, we grabbed the lives ones and brought them 'ere to the homestead. Then we went back, grabbed the dead ones and gave them a proper burial in the back." He paused. "If you wanna go pay your respects I understand."

Saddened Ulysses replied. "I… I will…" But another question popped into his mind.

"Ok I'm sorry, why are you helping us? Why help Royal military?"

Gabriel chuckled.

"Because you're people son. Is there any other reason?

* * *

><p>3 months pass.<p>

Helluva timeskip, I know.

The faunus fighters who'd been knocked out up an left within that first week. My father was both happy and sad they were gone. Happy, because he was angry over the death of his men. Sad, because he'd actually begun to like them.

Over these months my father had gotten close to Mary. Yes, by close you know what I mean. Spending day after day together had drawn them together, and soon they fell in love. That legalized insanity we're all afflicted with. But sooner or later my dad was going to need to return back into the city.

A week before my father left, the other soldiers went to go get help. Dad was using a cane still, but in order to get a proper prosthetic he'd need to head into the city. None of the soldiers wanted to risk their saviors being… moved... into the Fanus zone.

The day of his departure a truck arrived, on it was Gordon and John with some civvies from the city. As my father got on, he grabbed Mary. He whispered something, then got on the truck and departed.

That thing he whispered was simple, short and stupidly suave. "I'm going to come back, but first I need to make sure you'll be able to come with me".

Another two months later, the war was over. The treaty signed and the Revolution over. Faunus rights were made equal to human ones, and things seemed like they'd be happy ever after. The day after the treaty was signed, a car with two people arrived onto the farm.

One man's name was Ulysses, the other's was Abraham. Both were Provosts, one was a new Colonel while the other was the Lord Commissioner General.

The house door opens, a woman runs out and jumps into the arms of my father.

They then both turn to face my Grandfather Abraham.

"...Do you love her Son?" He asks Ulysses

"I do Sir."

"...You love him miss?" He asks Mary

"Yes mister."

"...Then you have my blessing."

Ulysses and Mary.

Man and wife.

My Father and Mother.

I never did tell you I was half faunus did I? Most people don't bother to check under the hat, they'll find the ears. Nor note my disturbing love of salmon and berries.

But with that, we'll put an end to the before of the beginning. The next chapter will be about Beacon, 21 years in the future. The beginning of the best of times.

Also, the worse of times.


	2. A Year too Early

Let's fast forward 21 years. We go from a farm to an airship, and from 3 adults to a teenager and an aide.

We were landing onto Beacon's landing dock I was getting up and walking out onto the concord.

Beacon Academy. The most famous Huntsman academy in Remnant. A grey lane of concrete leading towards a large, opulent tower in the center of the campus. Trees lined the side of the walkways. A group of girls were walking past the ship, all in uniform. I heard one of them squeal about something about the Vytal Festival.

That festival was going to be interesting, not in the way I nor that white haired girl expected I bet.

I was nervous for many reasons, namely my entrance. When I applied to Beacon, I was 16, a year below the usual threshold. I passed the exam, showed my credentials, flashed the family name and was allowed in fairly easily. Problem being I was forced into my Military training for another six months.

Basically, I was enrolling a year early while also being six months late. To say I was nervous was an… understatement.

***CRASH* **I turned around.

"GOD DAMN IT ARGYLE!"

* * *

><p>At the foot of the ship was an old man. He looked like a ghoul, sagging face and thin arms. He was wearing a suit and tie with my family's crest on the sleeve, a sword crossed with a revolver. He looked like he'd just fallen out of an airplane. Which to be fair, he did.<p>

Meet Argyle. My personal aide for the past 11 years of my life.

He'd been trying to bring me my weapons case and rucksack from my seat on the ship. Now both items and him were sprawled infront of my feet.

I sighed. "Argyle I told you to let me carry these things, you know how heavy my gear is."

"Young Master, with all due respect, as your aide it's my job to help you when possible." He responded, trying to get up.

I rolled my eyes and helped him up, he was dusting himself off as I bent over to pick up my sack and case. I threw the sack over my shoulder. "Argyle," I chastised, "You've been my aide since I was 5 years old. You're more of a second Father to me than a servant."

"More reason I should be here to help you move in! It's a damned shame Lord Provost couldn't help you himself, and no one should be forced to relocate on their own" the old man beamed.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Thank you, I'm glad _someone_ gave me company on the way here." I looked around again. "It really is like a postcard, I wonder how much it c-"

"Mister Provost?"

I jumped. A tall blonde woman had appeared behind me. She was wearing a black and white outfit with an emerald pendant at the collar, behind her was a purple and black cape. At her side… was a riding crop.

Oh, joy. The first member of the faculty here and I'm already scared shitless. _Please tell me she doesn't use that on the students _I thought.

"Yes ma'am, that'd be me." I replied

"I'm Professor Goodwitch" she continued. "Headmaster Ozpin has requested that you come with me to meet him in the main tower at once."

"Wait, the headmaster? I thought everything had been sorted out already" I inquired.

"It seems not. Please, follow me. I'll tell some of the faculty to get your bags" she said.

I looked to Argyle. "Go see your daughter, she's in her third year here right? I'll meet up with you later." I turned back to the Professor.

"Well than ma'am, lead the way."

* * *

><p><em>How tall is this tower!? We've been in this elevator for 5 damn minutes, and this lady does <em>not _seem like the kind who likes to small talk._

The doors finally opened. We were at the top of the central tower… it was quite a view to say the least.

The entire office looked like it was in the heart of a clock-tower. The roof had gears and cogs twirling as if they were locked into a ballroom dance. Gears above me, gears to the side of me, all a matted grey color. At the end of the room was a large window, in front of it an ornate metal desk with a grey-haired man sitting at it. Goodwitch and I walked forward towards him.

I decided to try and break the ice "Well, either you're headmaster Ozpin or this is the maintenance department."

The Professor gave me a look which I could tell meant _shut it_. The headmaster seemed a bit amused however, and stood up. He wore a black suit with a green scarf around his neck. In his hand was a cane with an odd squeezing mechanism. He smiled. "As headmaster one could say I attend to maintenance as well. One who runs a school shouldn't be afraid to handle quick fixes."

"Touche, Sir" I replied. I already liked this guy.

"Ambrose Provost. Lets see here…" Ozpin pulled out a holopad and started reading off it. "Hm, born into the noble family directly. Son of the Lord Commissioner General Ulysses and Lady Mary. It says here that you went through a normal school as a child before joining the Cadet Academy."

"Aye Sir, that's true." I answered. "My parents wanted their kids to be part of society growing up, not closed off like most other noblemen. So I went through primary and middle school the same as anyone else in Vale."

"Hm, interesting forethought." He looked at his scroll again. "Lets see here, graduated from the Cadet Academy last month with honors. Not the best in class but still impressive. Applied for a transfer around this time last year. Passed the entrance exam with a respectable score…"

I was beginning to get annoyed. "Sir, you're saying things both you and I already know. With all due respect may we cut to the chase?"

"..." He looked at me intently, then continued. "There are two reasons I called you up here, the first being a personal word and the second being an administrative problem. Now, remove your hat."

I panicked "Er, Sir? Why take off my hat, it's got n-"

"Ambrose. Take the hat off." His green eyes bored into me.

_Damn it…_

I lifted my hat off my head. It's a black Hardee hat with golden laurel cords that meet at the cusp. I wriggled the second pair of ears on my head. Goodwitch seemed surprised, so I smiled.

Ozpin paced around his desk and picked up where he had left off. "21 years ago, this kingdom went through a very bloody internal war. Many innocent people died in that conflict." He drank from his mug. "It was a conflict of ignorance, but in hindsight it appeared to have needed to be an inevitability. It was after that war we as a Kingdom began to face our problems instead of trying to brush them off to the side."

"The Faunus War. My Father was a Captain in that mess" I said.

"Indeed," Ozpin resumed. "Ambrose, your father and I have not always seen eye to eye on everything. He's always been more of a policeman than I have, speaking of protection and so on. We particularly don't see eye to eye on this 'White Fang' problem we seem to be having. But when your sister renounced her claim on the Mounted Police your father knew that you would be next in line, and he knew you wouldn't say no."

_Where the hell is he going with this…?_ I thought

He went on; "Your father and I came to a conclusion a long time ago that you and your siblings would be placed into a unique position from the moment of your birth. Do you know what that position is?"

_Oh, of course he means _this

"A bridge, Sir" I put bluntly.

"Indeed. A bridge between the humans and faunus. As members of a noble family while also possessing Faunus blood, you and your family may finally be capable of connecting the age long gap between the two peoples" He paused again, asking Goodwitch for a dossier. "It is a role you did not choose, nor a role you may ever escape. And based upon the choices you make, you will either find a home with both humans and faunus, or neither."

"Wise words Sir" I replied.

"Your timing here at Beacon will either be perfect or disastrous, depending on where the chips fall. But no matter what happens, your decisions will affect more than just you." He spread out the dossier on his desk.

He called me towards the desk. "The problem that we face is a bit simple. The teams for first years have already been created, and it seems you're the odd man out. That being said, I'll allow you to select from these three teams to join. Choose wisely, I won't let you pick again."

* * *

><p>There were three teams in front of me, one a color, one a flower, one a bird.<p>

_Hm, let's look here. CRDL, four guys, I can smell the sausage from here. Leader is Cardin Winchester. Seems like a bit of a blowhard from these pictures. Hell he accidentally smacked one of his members with his mace in a fight. Next_

_Team… RWBY. Four girls, great exactly what I need more annoying sisters. Record seems pretty legit, no pictures though, wierd. Lead by Ruby Rose… she's 15!? Damn, she must be good. Mission record seems pretty legitimate… wait… "extracurricular activities?" Blown up nightclub? Dockyard on fire?! Nope, nope nope nope._

_Alright, last one. Team JNPR. Two girls, two guys. Only balanced team here. Lets see, damn this redheaded girl can fight. Took out all of CRDL on her own. What else…. the short one rode a wild Ursa Major during initiation. OK, that's one crazy person. Nothing spectacular on Lie Ren, though he seems competent. Leader is… what? No, no freakin' way._

"Sir, I'm reading this right correct?" I questioned. "This says JNPR's leader is… Jaune Arc."

"You are infact reading correctly, Jaune does lead Team JNPR" He answered. "If I'm not mistaken… you grew up near the Arc family didn't you?"

There are two things I don't believe in, fate and coincidences. People always call me a cynical old man for it, but I've always known that every effect has some kind of cause. I looked at Ozpin, wondering what he was thinking.

"I'll join team JNPR Sir."


	3. Meeting the Team

The airship pad was completely abandoned now, myself standing alone towards the large tower in the distance. Even the second time, the building still seemed so regal in nature. Now with the sunset that was too my back, the tower seemed to be in front of a mishmash of reds and oranges.

I was thinking back to the tower, something wasn't sitting right. Ozpin _knew_ I was going to choose working with Jaune, he was the only other person I knew at the Academy who wasn't two years ahead of me. How did he even know that I knew him? And how does a Headmaster of a Combat school have connections with a member of the government like my Father?

Questions, questions, and no bloody answers.

Jaune was always a bit of a tragic fool as a child. He had the worst luck, and next to no combat skill. Every time in training, whenever we got into a bad spot, something would happen that would remove him from the equation. He was always stuck in a tree while me and our other friends handled the situation. He had will though… but will isn't enough.

"Young Master!" Argyle belted. He was marching up with his daughter in tow. She looked pleasantly tired, I guess she'd had enough of her father for one day.

Although Argyle himself was human, his daughter was a rabbit faunus. He'd taken her in before my family took _him _on the payroll. His wife had died before they could have any children of their own, so adopting worked best for him. He adored her, even though she had two more ears and a tail he saw her as his own.

That being said, she was giving me the "Help me" face. Welp, here we go.

"Argyle," I began "it's late, the meter's running and Velvet looks like she's going to pass out. I need to head back to the dorms anyhow, meet my new teammates."

His face contorted. _Oh boy, I said the wrong thing didn't I _I thought.

"By God young Ambrose, I only wanted a picture of you two together before I had to depart, the insolence isn't necessary." He turned to Velvet sharply. "Dear, can you and Mr. Provost position yourselves so that the main tower is in the background. I'll be right back with my scroll."

She sighed. "Fine Dad, just be quick."

He scurried up the pad into the ship, meanwhile I was moving next to Velvet.

"He seemed happy to see you." I said

"It's been six months since he last visited. I'm glad he didn't try to spend the night."

"That probably wouldn't go over well. If Yatsuhashi made a move on you I'd have to help you carry him to the hospital."

"Who, Yatsuhashi or my father?"

"Both, most likely. Argyle has more energy than a kid hopped up on 3 pounds of candy."

She laughed. "He really is one of a kind. Oh well, the Vytal Festival is in two weeks, he'll come back then. Are Lord and Lady Provost going to come also?"

I laughed myself; "They damn well better, or I'll never forgive either of them."

Argyle finally scurried out of the ship with his scroll in possession. "Alright, alright. Stand still…. *click*. Got it!"

"Nice sound effect" Velv and I said in unison.

The old man seemed pleased with himself. "Now you two, run along! It's terribly late, you should know better than to be outside at this hour!"

* * *

><p><em>Fourth floor, room 17. Fourth floor, room 17…. got it.<em>

I found my way into the dorm building. I never thought that enough people went to Beacon to warrant multiple dorm buildings, let alone ones that were 5 stories each. I hadn't figured out yet that finding my way to courses was going to be the _real_ challenge.

I walked up to the door, then paused. Voices were coming from the interior.

First, a loud fast female voice; "Ooooo, a big box. And a new bed! Ren, let's see if it breaks if I bounce on it!"

Then a guy; "Nora NO!"

Then another girl; "Hm, Jaune what do who do you think these are for? These cases are completely sealed."

"I dunno. Ozpin said that we'd be getting a new member a few weeks ago, but I figured something had happened."

_A few weeks…? Damn this guy plans ahead._ I decided to open the door.

Everyone turned to face me. There was a guy with black hair trying to position himself between my gear case and an orange haired girl. Jaune was standing to the right of another girl with red hair.

Orange Hair: "Hiiiiiii!" (Catatonic with glee, still trying to grab my equipment)

Black Hair: "Huh?" (Dazed and confused, not sure to focus on me or the girl)

Redhead: "Hello!" (Disturbingly cheery. Or maybe she's just nicer than I am)

Jaune: "Ambrose!?" (Eyes as big as ponds, jaw dropped to the ground like a waterfall)

_This… is my team… maybe I should have gone with the four girls and burning nightclubs._

I turned to Jaune. "What, 4 years without seeing me and I don't even get a damned hug?"

My words broke him out of his stupor. He came forward and embraced me while laughing.

"Andy I…" he said, "what are you doing here!? Shouldn't you be at the Cadet Academy?"

"Nope," I told him as I let go, "applied to transfer to Beacon. Figure I best spend my few years of freedom left _not _stuck in the kingdom." I turned to the other three, the guy and girl had stopped quarreling and stared were looking at us. "So, this is team JNPR. Well… er… I'm Ambrose. You can all just call me Andy though."

"I'm Nora!" the orange haired girl said. "Ooooo, nice hat. Oh, can I try it on?!"

I jumped back; "NO! ...I mean… ugh fine, here." Hard to say no to a smile like that, besides, these guys are going to find out about the ears one way or another.

"YAY!" She grabbed my hat and put in on her head, then she ran to her bed.

The black-haired guy stepped forward; "Lie Ren, pleased to meet you." He extended his hand.

Quiet-spoken. I can appreciate that.

"Hello again!" The redhead came forward next to Jaune. "I'm Pyrrha, please to make your aquaintance."

_Ah, thought I'd seen her before. I need to stop eating Pumpkin Pete's so much._

"Likewise." I paused "...Why have none of you said anything about the ears?"

"_Should_ we say something?" Pyrrha asked.

"They look very fuzzy!" Nora interjected.

Jaune smirked. "I was wondering why you were wearing a hat. Back in school you always had your ears showing."

I chuckled. "Things change Jaune."

"Ren! The pancakes!" Nora darted out of the room and down the hall.

"Oh boy…" Ren took off after her.

Pyrrha looked at Jaune. "I better make sure they don't make a mess." Then to me "It was nice meeting you! We'll be back in 5 minutes!"

* * *

><p>"They seem nice." I said<p>

"Best friends you could ask for" he replied.

"Aye, your girlfriend seems really nice herself."

Jaune choked on his tongue. "P-pyrrha? S-s-she's not my-"

"Then she should be you idiot. Only you could be dense enough to tell she isn't into you."

He turned beet red. "You shut the door, why?"

"Just wanted to see that those transcripts I sent you actually worked out."

Now he was staring daggers at me. "Andy… look man I kn-"

"Save it. I didn't give them to you so I could blackmail you. I'm just happy everything's turned out well." I went to my new bed in the corner. "Looks like they moved the desks into the middle of the room. Sorry for that."

"It's fine, it's fine. So, why the hat exactly?"

"...People aren't as kind as you'd like to think towards faunus Jaune. Plus with this whole 'White Fang' fiasco and the huge hole in the middle of the city that was made last week, I figured it's best I just lay low with the ears for a bit."

"Come on man, this is Beacon" he replied. "You're not even a full faunus, and even if you _were_ you know that I'd have your back. Everyone else also."

"YEAH WE WOULD!" Nora burst through the door, Pyrrha and Ren tumbled in after her.

I stared in disbelief. "You know what… I ain't even mad." Then I smelled something. "Is…. is that honey on those pancakes?"

Ren got up and handed me a plate. "Yeah, we ran out of syrup so I used honey instead. Are you allergic?"

"No! Not at all!" I started wolfing the stuff down.

Jaune laughed next to me. "Ren, he's part _bear _faunus. If you think this is bad you should see him with salmon."

*BUUUURP* "Excuse me" I said. Everyone laughed.


	4. Forest Fights

I woke up the next morning with a Valkyrie hovering above me.

"Good mooorning!" Nora yelled. She was wearing a black t-shirt with the word "boop" on it. One of the "O"s was replaced with her insignia, a hammer with a lightning bolt going through it in front of a pink circle.

I widened my eyes; "Good… morning?"

Jaune yelled from across the room. "Nora, let him get dressed. Ren's almost done in the shower."

Nora bounded towards the bathroom door. Slowly I got up and looked around, properly taking in the room for the first time. My bed was to the left of the entrance in the corner, along with a small nightdesk. Across was Pyrrha's bed, there was a small bookcase which seemed to double as a countertop. In the middle were two full sized desks for paperwork, each covered in papers and textbooks. Across from the door was a wall with three windows, underneath each a bed. Nora had the far left, Ren the far right, and Jaune in the middle. Pyrrha wasn't in the room, but Jaune was on this bed cleaning his weapon.

I'd seen Crocea Mors a few times before, hung above his family's fireplace. The sword and shield were ancient, it was a miracle it didn't shatter at the touch. Apparently it was still in good enough shape to be used in combat.

Jaune put down the sword and looked at me. "Ozpin's given us a special assignment today. No classes, we just need to report to the Emerald Forest. Get dressed and combat ready."

I turned and looked down from my bed, grabbing my rucksack and gearcase. Taking off my PJs, I put on my normal outfit, a navy blue long coat with double-breasted brass buttons from the neckcuff down. On my shoulders were black epaulettes with the yellow Provost crest on each. For my hands I wore some padded combat gloves. The pants were long and made from a strong blue fabric, with black segmented bracers on the front. Finally, I pulled out my black laceless combat boots. I got dressed then opened my weapons case.

_Oh wait, the hat. Never forget the hat_. I placed the brimmed cap on my head.

Jaune waltzed over, he was wearing his white armor and jeans now. "You finally old enough to use Persistence?"

"Yup." I smiled taking my gear out. First, my leathers; an ammunition belt and some attached pouches, each filled with different dust cartridges. After that my grenade bandolier, which I wore like a harness over my sack-coat. Six smoke grenades, each of the pins pointed towards the center.

After that, the actual weaponry.

First I pulled out my ancient revolver, Persistence. It's an ornate piece of equipment, with intricate markings scrawled all over it. On the grip is a group of tally marks, one scratch for each war it had been through. Back then it had four marks on it, one from my Great-Grandmother, two from my Grandfather and one from my Father. It was tradition for the heir of the house to use the firearm until he had grown up and a new heir was chosen. I had officially inherited the revolver a year ago.

After a quick inspection of the barrel and firing mechanism, I slipped it into my holster at my right side.

Next was a weapon I had forged myself (With some help from Argyle, he had taught me how to machine metals). I named it Pestilence, a long lever-action rifle. It had a plain redwood stock with a bluish-grey metal receiver that I had fashioned some designs on. I cocked the lever open to see if the internals were clean, cocked it shut, then slipped it onto my left-side holster. After that, I pulled the handle out, revealing the rapier that resided within the weapon.

Confused? Well it's fairly simple, you see the barrel of the rifle was telescoping. Normally it was a cylindrical shape so you could fire dust cartridges through. But if you pressed a switch on the receiver, the barrel would condense into a long sharp blade. The lever action would extend down the stock and become a handguard, and the wooden stock would fold into a handle.

No, it was not easy to build. It took me ten freaking tries to get even the _barrel_ to telescope properly.

But hey, people always like to talk about stuff that's also a gun, why not a gun that's also a sword?

I looked around to see my teammates staring at my outfit and weaponry. Ren spoke first.

"That's… a lot of equipment. How do you carry that much?" he inquired.

"Bear strength" I answered nonchalantly. "You think this is nuts you should see my mom, she's the pure blooded Faunus."

Nora became curious herself; "Ooooooo. What other stuff can you do?"

"Well," I started, "I can smell things better than the average human. I can sleep through an explosion," Ren and Nora looked at me shocked. "and yes I have before. Don't ask. I have a similar appetite to bears, I eat a lot of fish and fruit for instance. And honey… waaaaay too much honey."

Pyrrha walked in at that moment, carrying a box of donuts. She was turning to say hello to me when she tripped over my rucksack on the floor. Jaune, in his white-knighty glory, dove to catch her. They both landed with a grunt. Pyrrha, noting the position she was in, began blushing. Jaune, holding her, turned scarlet himself. Nora giggled while Ren grinned, I just smiled and rolled my eyes.

_So help me God,_ I thought _if Jaune doesn't make a move on this girl soon I'll force him too._

"RIGHT!" Jaune said, darting up and knocking Pyrrha to the side, "Let's get to the Emerald Forest ASAP!" He ran off before any of us could respond, and left a disheveled Nikos lying against my bed befuddled.

"Well then, guess we better head off" Ren said. Nora and I helped Pyrrha up.

_This is going to be interesting…_

* * *

><p>We stood in front of Ozpin at the cliff above the Emerald Forest. I was chewing on a honey-glazed donut.<p>

The place certainly lived up to it's name, large emerald-green trees as far as the eye could see. They swayed in the wind, leafs caught up in the gust. Far away I could see a Nevermore circling in the air.

_Knowing my luck, we're going to end up fighting that thing_

"I'm sure you all wonder why I've gathered you here this morning" Ozpin started. "As you've obviously noticed, JNPR has a new member. Ambrose Provost may be starting late here at Beacon, but he's as much a member of this school as anyone else. To emphasize that, I've constructed a little exercise for the newly named team JNAPR."

_Juuunaaaappper…. well it's a stretch but it'll do._

"As you can see, behind me there is a large Nevermore circling above the ruins where your initiation took place. At those ruins is another team of trainees."

_Wait, another team?_

"That team is currently in the middle of holding off a Grimm onslaught. Below that Nevermore is this" He showed us a holopad with cameras shown throughout the forest.

The place was littered with Grimm. Ursi, Beowolves, Borabatusks, even a Deathstalker. At least a hundred Grimm rushing towards the central point. I spat out my breakfast at the ground, shocked.

I looked up from the holopad and into Ozpin's face, enraged. "With all due respect Sir, are you friggin' insane!?" I yelled. "You're telling me you sent four _trainees_ to do God knows what in there, with no support or back-up!?" I looked to my left and right. Jaune shared my sentiment, I could see him clenching his fists in anger. Pyrrha looked shocked at the whole situation, while Nora just stood there agape in fear. Ren was unreadable, as always, but I could see his eyes twitch a bit at the situation.

Ozpin raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner; "You have all right to be upset young man, but trust me when I say that they are not without assistance."

"But you just said they were out there on their own!"

"I said _another team_ was out there, I never said they were the _only_ team. I've already deployed team CFVY into the field to clear a path for you to the ruins."

I closed my mouth, shocked. In hindsight I should have seen that coming, Ozpin never seemed like he was the sadistic type.

"Sir," Jaune said "What team is at the ruins right now? What were they doing?"

Ozpin turned to him "I had sent team RWBY to clear the area for the upcoming midyear exams. Professor Port seemed to have… dramatically underestimated the amount of Grimm in the area."

All of a sudden my teammates had a new steel about them at the mention of team RWBY. Pyrrha, Ren and Nora ran off to the launchpads behind us. Jaune's eyes hardened again. "Ambrose get on the pad, we need to move."

I ran back to my pad in between Nora and Pyrrha, digging my feet into the metal.

"On your mark Mr. Arc." Ozpin called from the cliff face.

"Hit it!" Jaune yelled.

* * *

><p><em>Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit. HOW DO I LAND.<em>

We had been catapulted through the air at an extreme velocity, by the looks of it we were going to land in the stretch of forest right in front of the ruins. I was moving feet first towards a large tree. Nora was using explosions from her hammer to slow herself down. Pyrrha had her shield up and was smashing through trees to slow down. Jaune and Ren were using their blades to slide down different trunks.

_God damn it, I was hoping not to have to use my semblance this soon._

I pulled a smoke grenade from the rig on my chest and pulled the pin. Suddenly a burst of smoke appeared around me. I motioned with my arms and manipulated the smoke to my feet, using it as a cushion against the tree I found myself ramming into.

*CRACK*

_Welp… I didn't pull the pin early enough…_

Gravity pulled me off the trunk and towards the ground. Underneath me I could hear Pyrrha yell my name, but she was a bit too far off. As I was falling I moved the smoke to cushion myself again.

*POOF*

_Well it worked this time at least_

I tried to get up when I felt a pain shoot through my left arm. I tried lifting it to only receive more pain.

_Shit, I popped my shoulder._

Ren and Pyrrha ran over. "Ambrose what's wrong?" Pyrrha asked me with a pained look on her face, helping me up.

"Nothing major, just dislocated my arm" I replied, grabbing it while wincing.

Jaune and Nora ran up. Nora was ecstatic about the flight, still giggling while asking Jaune if they could go again.

"Pyrrha what's up?" he asked

Pyrrha turned to him while holding my arm "He popped his shoulder out of it's socket, nothing seems broken though."

With that Ren grabbed my arm out of Pyrrha's grasp and pulled it with all of his strength.

*POP*

"YYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I fell to the ground, and curled my arms to my chest. Then I moved my arm around, the pain was quickly disappearing. I shifted my aura around to heal and bruising while getting up and glaring at Ren.

"I don't know if I should thank you, hug you, or clock you right now". I told him with a deadpanned face.

He just chuckled. "Let's go with option one" he said patting my shoulder.

Jaune was getting impatient. "Guys come on, Ruby and the others need help!"

With that we gathered our bearings and moved towards the sounds of explosions and gunfire.

* * *

><p>As we ran towards the field, we saw a horde of Beowolves rush towards the center ruins.<p>

Jaune looked to the left and saw someone get flung out of the forest. She was wearing a beret and sunglasses, along with an ammunition belt that looked more like a fashion statement than a utility.

"Nora, go help Coco!" he ordered. The girl picked up her grenade launcher and ran towards the fight.

Jaune turned to the rest of us. "Ren, I want you to stay here and hold the line for any more Grimm. Pyrrha you and Andy clear those Beowolves ahead of us. I'll stay here and help Ren. MOVE!"

Pyrrha and I ran forward towards the black clump ahead of us. I pulled out Pestilence and started firing blindly into the horde, loading explosive shells into the rifle. Pyrrha was taking shots with Milo herself, clearing a path directly to the center platform.

Five of the Beowolves turned around and charged us. Pyrrha quickly pulled out Akouo and transformed her firearm into a javelin. Meanwhile I sheathed Pestilence and pulled the sword out with my right hand, meanwhile holding pulling out Persistence with my left and brandishing the revolver like a parrying dagger.

Pyrrha went forward first rushing the first Beowolf with her shield down and smashing it's nose in with an audible *CRUNCH*. After shoving it's carcass to the side, she threw Milo directly into the face of another monster.

Picking up that she was now unarmed, I jumped over here and thrust my rapier right into the 3rd Beowolf's head. Using my leftover momentum I then launched myself forward and placed three shots from Persistence into the fourth. Behind me I could hear the *shunk* of Pyrhha reobtaining her weapon. She smilled and gave me a thumbs up, which I returned laughing.

Then came the last one. And boy, did they save the biggest for last.

The Alpha Beowolf stood before us, baring it's teeth. It towered before both of us, easily reaching double either of our heights.

_Well then, this bastard ate his veggies growing up didn't he?_

I turned to look at Pyrrha. We both nodded and charged the beast.

I recombined Pestilence and began loading acidic dust rounds into the chamber when I heard a shot, then an explosion behind our target. All of a sudden I saw a flash of yellow launch forward and land infront of the beast.

The girl was wearing a yellow jacket with an opening which left _very _little to the imagination. She had a yellow top with a black fire insignia emblazoned onto the front. She also had a wierd shortshort/skirt bottom along with some brown combat boots.

Meet Yang Xiao Long, the berserker. She lives up to that name in more ways than I can count.

As she turned to say hello to us the Beowolf began to stir. I ran up and flipped Pestilence around so that I was holding it at the barrel. and levelled the stock at it's head.

_Batter's up asshole_

*CRACK*

The Beowolf's head ripped off and rolled to the side. Disgusted, I took my rifle and started wiping it off with a rag I had in one of my pouches.

"You couldn't have done that a bit cleaner Andy?" Pyrrha looked at me slightly disturbed. I couldn't blame her, I did just bat a Grimm's head off with the blunt end of my rifle.

"So Wonder Woman," Yang said, "who's Baby Blue over here?"

I got annoyed. _Baby blue?! I'm wearing dark blue and black for crying out loud!_

Pyrrha could tell from my face I was a bit annoyed and rushed over to defuse the situation. "Yang, this is Ambrose. Ambrose, this is Yang Xiao Long."

I decided to try and be nice "Nice to meet you blondie" I sniggered.

"Likewise" she said, grinning. "Come on, Ruby and the others have probably cleared out the amphitheatre."

* * *

><p>We marched up to the central platform that Yang had called an amphitheatre. "Why'd you call this place an ampi-whatever?" I asked her.<p>

"I dunno," Yang responded, "it's what Weiss called it."

"Who?"

"You'll see."

Ask we got closer to the center the amount of Grimm corpses grew and grew. I looked around both awestruck and terrified.

_You're telling me that four girls did this much damage. Holy shit, note to self; never piss off team RWBY._

Finally we reached a hole in the ground with stone seats carved out of it.

_Ah, yeah this actually looks like an amphitheatre._

At the center were three other girls sitting in a triangle talking to eachother. Each was wearing a completely different color to the last.

The first girl had a white jacket on with a snowflake on the back, she was wearing a skirt and high heels along with a white dress. Her hair was snow white, held in a ponytail tilted off to the left.

The next one had long black hair with a black bow on top. She had black scarf and a white sleeveless shirt and black vest. She also had black pants with purple leggings along with black pumps. Then I saw her bow move. _Wait, there's no wind here. I'm going nuts_. I looked again and saw it move again. _Ok now I KNOW I saw something_.

Then there was the last girl.

Oh God the last girl.

She had black hair with reddish highlights at the end. She was wearing a red hood and cape ontop of a black long-sleeved outfit, along with a black and red frilled skirt. Her belt had a silver rose insignia and various pouches.

And her eyes, she had these amazing silver eyes and these adorable rosy cheeks.

_Holy shit I think I'm in love._

Then Yang noticed I had been staring and blushing at something for a while, and traced my view.

When she put two and two together she frowned and punched my shoulder.

_Jeez!_

"Don't even think about it Baby Blue." She said, cocking her gauntlets. "My sister's off limits."

_Wait, sister? _

_Well shit._

The girls had noticed us staring at them and started approaching us.

The red one spoke first "Yaaaaang, did you find Jaune and the others? Ozpin said they'd be coming to back us up."

_Oh God she sounds so cute_. I started blushing again.

Yang noticed this and punched me again, this time with her hair glowing.

_Wait… her hair's glowing!?_

"Uuuuh, Yang? Are you ok?" The black girl said.

"Oh we're FINE!" Yang said smiling, as she grabbed my head into a headlock proceeding to give me a noogie of epic proportions.

"Are you sure? You're on fire again." The white girl said.

_Fire? FIRE!?_

I wrestled myself out to notice that Yang's hair was indeed on fire. Not only that her eyes had turned crimson red.

Terrified, I ran behind Pyrrha. "Please don't let her kill me." I pleaded.

Yang, noticing how worked up she'd become, started to calm herself down. She was still giving me the evil glare when I stepped out from behind Pyrrha.

"So… who're you blue guy?" the red one said.

I coughed, flustered. "Uh, I'm Ambrose. Ambrose Provost."

The redheaded girl beamed at me. "I'm Ruby!"

"Blake." The dark haired one said, lifting her hand in greeting.

"Weiss Schnee…" the white haired girl said, giving me an ice cold glare.

_Ruby, Blake and Weiss… wait did she say Schnee?_

I was about to ask when Jaune, Ren, Nora and team CFVY wandered over to our little meet-up.

Then I noticed someone slung over Yatsuhashi's shoulder.

It was Velvet.

"Velv!" I yelled as I ran up to them. I could hear Pyrrha and team RWBY run up behind me.

I quickly got to Yatsuhashi. "Yatsu what the hell happened!? Is she ok?"

He was about to respond when Coco spoke instead. "She's fine, she just passed out from ferrying her old man around yesterday."

"Oh." I responded, relieved that my old friend wasn't hurt.

_Swear to God I'm going to kill Argyle for this..._

The Grimm had been cleared out, and team RWBY had been recovered. With that, we began to make the long march back home.


	5. The Road Home

**Hey everyone, author here. Thought I'd take the time here to explain some stuff about the characters incase you were confused.**

**The main character, Ambrose, is following the theme of gender-bent folk heros of team JNPR. Andy specifically is based off of the late 19th century sharpshooter Annie Oakley, while also being paired with a bunch of American Civil War themes. His name is also a double meaning. Ambrose was the name of an early Union Civil War General (Ambrose Burnside, king of sideburns). His name is also similar to the term "Ambrosia", which was the nectar of the Greek gods and a known healing substance.**

**Ulysses, as you can tell, is based off of Ulysses S. Grant. Abraham is a reference to the President Abraham Lincoln. Mary is a double entendre herself, being a reference to Mary Todd Lincoln (The wife of Abraham) and the Virgin Mary who gave birth to Christ, often referred to as the epitome of a good mother. Lastly, Gabriel, the name of a prominent angel in the Abrahamic faiths, well known for being a saving grace. Finally, Argyle is a reference to Fallout 3 (A personal favorite game of mine), and the ghoul manservant referenced during the radio stories in that game.**

**Enjoy the rest of the story!**

* * *

><p><em>How. Big. Is. This. Place.<em>

We'd been walking through the forest for a good 30 minutes straight. Pyrrha, Blake, Ruby and I were upfront with our ranged weapons out. Team CFVY was in the middle with a still incapacitated Velvet slung over Yatsuhashi's shoulder. Weiss and Yang were between my group and CFVY, while Ren, Jaune and Nora brought up the rear.

We were marching through some brush when Blake spoke up. "So Ambrose, I've never seen you around before. Did you just transfer in?"

I was digging my way through some brush. "Yep," I said, "I was supposed to enroll in Beacon at the beginning of this year but I got held up at bit at the Royal Cadet Academy."

At this Blake's eyebrow rose. "The Cadet Academy? You were going to join the military?"

I laughed. "Nah, just something I needed to finish up before I was allowed to graduate into a proper Combat school. It was a family thing."

This was when Weiss began to speak, glaring at me; "You said your last name was Provost, correct?"

I ducked under a branch and held it up for Ruby; "That's right. And you said yours was Schnee, right?" I returned her glare.

She huffed "I'm guessing you're one of Commissioner General Ulysses' mutts. "

I froze.

_Did she just call me and my siblings mutts?_

Angrily, I dropped the branch behind Ruby and separated Pestilence into it's rapier form. I was advancing on Weiss when Yang grabbed me into a full nelson. I tried to get out of it, yelling at the blond to let me go.

"Woah there, slow down tiger." She said, looking from me to Weiss. "Hey Ice Queen what was that about?"

Weiss kept glaring at me as I struggled. "He knows all too well what it's about."

She walked forward and tossed my hat to the side, revealing my bear ears. "Hmmp, I was right. You _are_ one of his offspring."

Blake was watching from the side, staring daggers at Weiss. Ruby was calling out, wondering what was going on. Pyrrha looked confused, shifting glances between both of us.

"Ambrose" Pyrrha said, "What does she mean 'knows all too well'?"

I sighed, and looked at Yang with a pained face. "Yang, do me a favor and let me go? I promise I won't do anything… rash."

She waited a moment, pondering whether to believe me or not. After a second she release her lock on me. I took my time getting up

Finally I spoke; "My father deemed her father 'Persona non Grata'."

Yang looked confused; "Persona what?"

"He basically banned him from coming into Vale" I answered.

"Why?" Blake said, leaning on a tree.

I was still staring down Weiss; "Because her father is a piece of garbage who runs his business on little more than slave-labor."

I saw her ire break slightly as if she understood what I was saying was right.

He eyes hardened again, she lunged forward and landed a smack across my face.

_Oh that's it Princess I'm gonna-_

When I looked back at her I saw tears welling up in her ice-blue eyes. Weiss took off in the direction of team CFVY.

"Weiss wait!" Yang said, running after her.

Blake looked at me conflicted, as if wondering to side with me or go help her teammate.

_Well crap…_

* * *

><p>We reached a large clearing. Pyrrha had gone back to check on the rear guard (Namely Jaune I'm guessing), and Blake had decided to give her some company. I was alone at the front with Ruby. I decided to ask her something.<p>

"Hey Ruby" I started

"Yes Ambrose?" She said, her face turning to me smiling.

_Jeez she's cute…_

I chuckled nervously; "You can just call me Andy."

She rolled her eyes; "Alright Andy, what's up?"

"Do you… know… Weiss' relationship with her father?"

Ruby stopped for a moment, pondering the question.

"Does this have to do with that little 'mishappening' 30 minutes ago?" she said giggling.

I turned redder than I already was; "Yeah… yeah it does."

She walked forward a bit and continued; "I remember on a mission last week, she said something about her father 'doing something' with the Schnee Dust Company. Something about moving it into a… moral grey area."

_That's putting it lightly_

Ruby continued "I think she cares about him, but she's angry at his choices. She was planning on talking with him about it at the Vytal Festival, but he can't show up for some reason. Actually I think I heard her complaining about some Government bigwig here in Vale."

_...Double crap_

* * *

><p>15 minutes later we caught sight of the cliff that we had been propelled off. We had all regrouped together, Velvet had finally awoken and was apologizing like mad to her teammates. By the looks of it, they were just happy that she was alright.<p>

I was in the rear of the group with team RWBY when I took another look at Weiss. Her eyes were reddened around the rims, and she seemed to have a forlorn look plastered on her face.

_...God damn me and my conscience_

I pulled out my scroll and dialed a number I was planning on calling anyway, hoping he would pick up.

"Hello Dad?"

Weiss turned around, her expression a mix of both extreme shock and unrivaled fury. Yang looked back confused, Blake looked intrigued. Ruby was unreadable.

I continued; "I needed to talk to you about the Vytal Festival. You remember Hans Schnee right?"

*A garbled response*

"Yes, the pompous Atlesian bastard."

Weiss looked like she was going to kill me.

"You think you can allow him into the kingdom for the festival?"

The Ice Queen's face when into complete shock, the rest of her team just stared.

"Yeah, yeah he's a piece of shit…. Yes I know you don't want to look weak in front of the Parliament over the whole proposed dust embargo… yes I promise it's for a good reason… alright thanks. Give Tom and Mom my love, same to Georgia if you get the chance. You ARE coming to Beacon for the festival right?... OK good, see you then." I shut my scroll and slipped it back into it's pouch on my belt.

I looked up at the heiress' face; "We're cool?"

She lept at me and pulled me into a tight hug.

Then she looked around, scarlet faced, realizing she had broken character, and quickly released me. "You tell NO ONE I did that" she ordered me through a half-hearted glare.

I laughed "Whatever you say Princess."

She started walking off when she turned around slightly; "And… I'm sorry… what I said was-"

"People say stupid things when they're angry," I interrupted "myself more than anyone." I smiled at her.

Her mood picked up, and she walked off towards the Academy. Yang grinned at me, while Blake punched my shoulder.

Then Ruby came up next to me, grinning from ear to ear; "That was one of the nicest things I've ever seen anyone do for her."

I walked forward and responded; "Holding a grudge isn't going to solve the problem. Besides, if you hadn't told me what was up then I probably wouldn't have done that."

"Hm, fair enough. Come on 'Baby Blue', everyone will be waiting." she sniggered at the name.

_Baby Blue… I can live with a nickname like that._


End file.
